A Surprise Finding About Backpacks

A surprise finding about backpacks. A lot of us worry about kids carrying 20 to 30 pounds on their back, "They kind of walk like this like hunched over because it is to heavy to carry the books are too heavy to carry," says one mom.

It turns out there are more immediate concerns than back injury. Researchers studied nearly 250 backpack related emergency room visits in kids ages 6 to 18, and they found the most common injury was to the head or face, followed by the hand. Back injuries came in at number six.

The report concludes kids at school are not hurt as often while they are wearing a backpack. It is when they are tripping over them, using them to hit someone else, or when they get poked by a pencil or some other object when they reach into the backpack. So, there would be 40% fewer injuries if backpacks were kept off the floor.

That's not to say we shouldn't be concerned about some long term back aches, but this study comes from 100 emergency departments. So, researchers admit it doesn't include any nagging back problems that may or may not be mentioned during a regular doctor visit.